What happens with Texas textbooks will most likely stay in Texas, say experts

Pop quiz: Does the school curriculum adopted in Texas really wind up in textbooks nationwide? If you answered yes, you might get a failing grade.

As the second-largest purchaser of textbooks behind California, the Lone Star State has historically wielded enormous clout in deciding what material appears in classrooms across the country. That's why the state school board's recent decision to adopt new social studies standards was closely watched far beyond Texas.

Critics feared the new, more conservative curriculum in Texas would spread elsewhere. But publishing experts say those concerns are overblown.

"It's easier nowadays to create one edition for one situation and a different edition for another situation," said Bob Resnick, founder of Education Market Research, based in New York. "I don't believe the Texas curriculum will spread anyplace else."...

More Comments:

James W Loewen -
6/9/2010

While this optimistic prophecy is happy, it's also dubious. Publishers do not have in place a mechanism by which to print different books for different states. Nor do they have in place a mechanism by which to locate or correct errors in their textbooks.